Sting, the development house behind Evolution Worlds for the Nintendo Gamecube and Riviera for the Game Boy Advance, has announced its next project: Yggdra Union, a new strategy RPG for the Game Boy Advance. The game carries a tag line of "We'll never fight alone."

Yggdra Union allows for the movement of multi-character units, similar to those used in the Langrisser and Ogre Battle games, across a grid-based map. When two units meet in battle, the game switches to a close-up view of its sprite-based characters arrayed for combat. Characters will make use of a class system, and the first screenshots show off classes such as Fencer, Sword Maiden, Hunter, and Assassin. Yggdra Union will also incorporate a card system, though it is currently unclear what role these cards will play in the game.

The three main characters of Yggdra Union are:

Yggdra, the Queen of a conquered kingdom: She has inherited the legendary sword which has been passed down from generation to generation in the royal family, and when her kingdom falls under attack, she is the only survivor of its ruling family that manages to escape. Yggdra seeks to restore the freedom of her land.

Milanor, the Thief King: Known as the Silver Wolf, Milanor is the leader of a band of thieves that has been increasing in popularity due to its ideals of justice. Yggdra seeks Milanor's aid in regaining her kingdom's freedom.

Emperor Gulcasa: Gulcasa has only recently ascended to power, having overthrown the previous emperor through a military coup. He has since imposed a dictatorship and instituted a policy of strengthening the military and expanding the empire. His forces conquer Yggdra's land.

Yggdra Union has been announced for a spring 2006 release in Japan, and its official website can be found here. The website currently contains story and character information in Japanese, as well as tons of artwork from the game. No North American release has been announced at this time. RPGamer will continue to report on additional information on this title as it comes to light.